Safari Snack Bouquet

I wanted to give my friend Katie a gift to say "Congratulations" on getting her own classroom...she's now a full-time 2nd grade teacher and we are all so excited for her. My first thought was "FOOD" and then the idea of a "bouquet" of food came to mind. Her classroom is set with a jungle/safari theme, so I went with that idea.

I headed to Michael's (where else? -- I can't help it....it's only 2 miles away) and picked up a medium-sized clay pot, along with some fun ribbon. I also had in my stash some rocks, floral foam, hot glue gun, black paper shred, skewers and large popsicle sticks. I also headed to the grocery store and picked up some tasty snacks including granola bars, trail mix, rice cakes and some chocolate....I was thinking "food" along the line of snacks to have when you get hungry and have a few minutes to spare (does that ever happen?) and I didn't want to totally junk her out.

Next, with hubby's help, we painted the pot using black exterior paint leftover from a project or two. Painting is definitely not my specialty, so his help was much appreciated. Next, I layered the inside of the pot with rocks (to give it some weight), floral foam cut to size and paper shreds adhered using my hot glue gun.

I made a bow with the ribbon I purchased and wired it to a large popsicle stick. To assemble the bouquet, I used my glue gun and attached the food items to popsicle sticks and wooden skewers. Then I began inserting everything to form a nice "arranged" look. I also found three wooden animals to complete the theme and attached them to skewers as well. (Here's a look from the back.) And here's the finished assembly!!! I thought it turned out great and I can't wait to give it to her. This project was very affordable and could be used for just about any theme.See you sooner than later....I've been busy working a few projects, but I promise to stay in touch!